Clovis III was the king of Austrasia

Austrasia

Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...

 from 675 to 676. Perhaps the son of Theuderic III

Theuderic III

Theuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...

 or Clovis II

Clovis II

Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...

, the Austrasian magnates who proclaimed him called him an illegitimate son of Clotaire III

Clotaire III

Chlothar III was the eldest son of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, and his queen Balthild...

. They placed him on the throne in opposition to the young Dagobert II

Dagobert II

Dagobert II was the king of Austrasia , the son of Sigebert III and Chimnechild of Burgundy. The Feast Date of St Dagobert II is 23 December -Biography:...

, the claimant of Wulfoald

Wulfoald

Wulfoald was the mayor of the palace of Austrasia from 656 or 661, depending on when Grimoald I was removed from that office , to his death and mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 to 675.He was the regent of Austrasia during the minority of Childeric II until 670...

, the mayor of the palace. At this time, Ebroin

Ebroin

Ebroin was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681...

, once mayor of the palace

Mayor of the Palace

Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....

 of Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...

, escaped from his monastic imprisonment and joined the partisans of Clovis. He probably hoped to use the claimant to oppose Theuderic III and Pepin of Heristal in Neustria and Burgundy

Kingdom of Burgundy

Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...

 as well. Though Ebroin intended it, he never succeeded in displacing Theuderic and Pepin, though he was eventually recognised as mayor in his old post.

Clovis died soon after his acclamation and he did nothing of his own will, being but a puppet of a faction. There remains the possibility that Clovis III (not always numbered among the kings of the Franks

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

) was not really a Merovingian at all.

See also

• Franks
  Franks
  The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
  
   (main history of Frankish kingdoms)
• List of Frankish Kings
• Merovingians

Sources

• The Oxford Merovingian Page.